9/18/25 Update on Washington Equal Pay and Opportunity Act — Job Postings

September 18, 2025

By Nicole Elgin & Carson Heideman

Many employers know that the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunity Act (EPOA) requires job postings to include wage and salary information, and a general description of benefits. The law was recently amended with Substitute Senate Bill 5408 to give employers an opportunity to cure posting deficiencies.

 A 2025 Amendment Adds Clarification and Breathing Room for Employers

The EPOA requires job postings to include pay and benefits information. Effective July 27, 2025, and only through July 27, 2027, a job applicant must give written notice of a violation to the employer, who has five (5) business days to correct any posting deficiency before the applicant may seek remedies.

Importantly, job advertisements that are copied and posted onto third-party websites by third-party entities are treated differently. If a job applicant sends notice to the employer that a deficient job posting exists, the employer must contact that third party within five days after receipt of the notice. However, as long as the employer did not consent to the posting’s reproduction, the employer will not be liable for the absence of any information required by EPOA.

 Recent WA Supreme Court Case Increases Employers’ Liability

On September 4, 2025, the Washington Supreme Court decided a case called Branson v. Washington Fine Wine & Spirits. The case centered around a husband and wife who applied for jobs with no intention to work the job, but with every intention to sue the employer for deficiencies in the job posting. When the case reached the Court, the dispute centered on one question: who counts as a “job applicant.” The Court sided with the husband and wife and ruled that a job applicant is “a person who applies to a job posting.” Meaning, any applicant can sue the employer for a deficient posting, even if that person never intended to take the job in the first place.

 Things to Keep in Mind

Job applicants have three (3) years to sue an employer for a violation of these job posting requirements. This means that employers should keep detailed documentation and historical copies of job postings. If a job posting is amended, the original and amended postings should be preserved.

Existing employees can also sue under the EPOA, even when there is no formal job posting. If an employer offers an internal transfer or promotion to an existing employee, the wage or salary must be disclosed upon the request of the employee being offered the position. While employers do not need to make formal job postings for internal transfers and promotions, it is best practice to put wage and salary information into writing when making an offer to an employee. 

For questions on this alert, contact Barran Liebman attorney Nicole Elgin at 503-276-2109 or nelgin@barran.com.